This invention relates to an ink bottle (or other container) for containing a supply of ink for an ink jet printing system. The ink jet printing apparatus for which the ink bottle of the present invention is intended for use is generally referred to as an industrial type ink jet printing system (as opposed to an office ink jet printer) which typically is used to print indicia on packaging or on secondary packaging of products conveyed past the ink jet printhead of this system as the products in their packages are conveyed past the printhead on a conveyor belt or the like. Such ink jet printing systems are shown in the co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/728,774 filed Oct. 11, 1996, assigned to Marsh Company of Belleville, Ill., the assignee of the instant patent application. The above-noted co-assigned patent application is herein incorporated by reference. It will be appreciated that such industrial ink jet printing systems typically use considerably more ink in a given time than office ink jet printers because the area printed by such industrial printers is greater and the industrial printing systems operate continuously. Thus, it is desirable to provide a relatively large supply of ink for such industrial ink jet printers, as compared to office ink jet printers.
Heretofore, ink was supplied to such commercial ink jet printing systems by means of a disposable ink bottle holding a desired quantity of ink (e.g., a pint or a liter). One such ink bottle is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,226 entitled "Ink Jet Ink Supply Apparatus," which has a spring biased poppet valve incorporated in a screw on cap such that when the bottle is inverted and threaded into a receptacle in the ink jet printing apparatus, a finger will engage the normally closed spring biased valve in the cap, and will force the valve to open, thus allowing ink from within the bottle to fill a reservoir of the ink jet printing apparatus. Upon removal of the ink bottle from the ink jet printing apparatus, the valve will close under the bias of the spring, and thus the valve will prevent the flow of ink from the bottle as it is removed. While such bottles worked well for their intended purpose, the necessity of including the spring biased valve in the cap of each bottle is expensive.
Reference also may be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,531,656 and 4,678,101 which disclose the use of a puncturable closure for a bottle from which a liquid is to be pressure dispensed.